WE ARE MEANT TO BE HAPPY

We are meant to be happy.

That has always been something we strive for in this life. In fact, if we look at the motivations behind our thoughts and actions—conscious and unconscious—they are all to get us closer to the feeling, or at least the idea, of happiness.

Some of us have long asked why we cannot hold on to happiness. For all of the scholarship and human insights across the centuries, nobody has found a complete and enduring answer. Perhaps because it has been too close to see…

The answer, the key, is our heart.

We have been told throughout our lives to “follow your heart.” This has been written in countless holy texts as well, across virtually all religions, since the very beginning. This is because our heart - even without us realizing it - feels the Love that comes from True Source, who loves us completely, and always wants the very best for us.

In opening and using our heart, we are blessed with lasting peace and happiness that we can feel—actually and really feel—in our daily lives. Our daily life is actually a manifestation of how strongly we are connected to our Creator, the True Source. Thus, an open heart is also the real key to our spiritual advancement in getting closer to True Source, the Source of Eternal Peace and True Joy.

Why is our heart the main connection to True Source? Why is our heart the center of beautiful feelings? Why is our heart, not our brain or other parts of us, the key?

Our heart is the key because our true self is within our heart. Our true self that is within our heart will continue to live on even after this lifetime has been completed. While our physical body is only a temporary “shell”—flesh and blood that will one day turn into dust—our relationship with True Source is eternal. We need True Source and True Source’s Love not only when we are alive on this earth, but forever and always.

As we are still in our physical body, our heart (not the physical heart but the spiritual heart – the center of our feeling) is where and how we remain connected to True Source.

With this connection, our heart communicates with True Source and receives True Source’s Blessings. In receiving True Source’s Blessings, we can feel so many beautiful things within our heart, including the feeling of lightness, calmness, peace, happiness, and joy beyond all things we have ever felt from our worldly experiences.

Being calm and joyful at every moment of our life may sound fantastic, even impossible. Now recognize that it is your brain making this judgment, imposing this false limitation. In this regard, you may have quite a bit of work to do in getting out of your own way. Our brain is so strong—we have spent so much of our life within our head—that it can overtake our heart at the beginning. However, our heart knows that peace, calmness, and happiness await us once we begin opening and using our heart. It is only a matter of opening it up to let True Source’s Blessing do the best for us.

How beautiful and exciting it is to consider that all these wonderful feelings are within us at all times. All we need to do is to open and use our heart to be able to feel and enjoy these wonderful Blessings.

May you open your heart to the Creator and use your heart to experience the peace, calmness, and happiness within.

- Irmansyah Effendi, M.Sc.

The Power of Smile

The Power of Smile

Emotion is an energy and affects our physical body directly. Negative emotions decrease willpower, turn down efficiency at work, and adversely affect health and mind. We smile in physical layer by contracting 15 difference face muscles and in turn moving more than 230 from 630 total face muscles. Based on a research, smiling motivates brain to release endomorphin which slows down infections, relieves pain, inhibits stress hormone, and increases heart beat and blood circulation. Three minutes of smiling has the same effect as upper body exercises. Five minutes of smiling has better results compared to five hours of high intensity exercise. Ten seconds of smiling has the same result as paddling a boat for three minutes. Smiling is a really wonderful exercise.

You are happy because you are smiling…

Smiling is a way to express divine happiness in you heart. Everybody smile when they are happy. So how can we smile without a reason? Does it not feel weird or unnatural? We will change our way of thinking for a while. Aside from smiling because of a happiness, actually we can be happy because we are smiling. SMILE TO INVITE HAPPINESS. A research has shown that just by pulling both ends of our lips to smile will incite positive biological reaction in our body.

Release your emotions by smiling

Our brain is not meant to process two separate information at one time. We cannot be happy and sad at the same time. We are only be able to be happy or sad but not both. This is a protection mechanism by which our brain prevents ambiguities which potentially damage our mind. What to do if you want to smile while experiencing negative emotions? Initially, you might feel tense because of the emotions. However, try to smile and you will experience a miracle. Negative emotion will just go away and disappear.

Smiling is not just simple movements of face muscles. Smiling affects your life positively. It is not easy to smile when we are faced with hard situation, but try to pull you lips. And you will soon realize the negative emotion will disappear by a smile. Try to smile everyday and see the difference on your face. Realize the continuous change to a better way. Don't people say that smiling invites fortune?

Smile even when you are on your own. The Smile of your deepest heart is always there, trying to surface. Happiness and the joy are our divine nature.